Funny Books, Cats, and Back-to-School Barbie

August links newsletter

Biscuit really knows how to relax.

Welcome to the monthly links roundup for the month of August!

It has been a bit of a month so I am in need of more funny distractions. One department I am currently lacking in is funny TV. If you have a show that has been making you laugh, let me know.

Before we get to the funny stuff I’m also going to put a plug in for donating relief funds for the Maui wildfires. I’ve spent a good chunk of time in West Maui and was just there (including spending some time in Lahaina) at the end of July.

I sometimes get overwhelmed with decisions on where to donate with things like this so will share one option: The Pacific Whale Foundation. I like their mission and have always had good experiences on their boats.

You can choose from a few different funds and yes I realize this involves making another choice but I think any are good options!

And now onto the funny stuff…

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Funny stuff and other distractions:

This Elon Musk texting piece made me laugh out loud.

Also appreciated this Hard Times headline.

Very important cat video content.

Funny writer friend

Andrew Knott

is now on Substack so you will want to check out Knott, A Newsletter.

Books:

This month I listened to Yellowface on audio, and it was a very bingeable satire of the publishing industry. I think writers will particularly appreciate it.

I also recently finished an advanced copy of Substacker

Devorah Heitner, PhD

’s upcoming book Growing Up in Public, which discusses parenting in today’s digital world and has lots of great insights and tips that I found really helpful.

And I got my hands on a copy of You’re Not a Real Parent Until... by New Yorker cartoonists Scott Dooley and Jason Chatfield. It would make a good funny gift book for the parent in your life who needs a short funny read (basically all the parents in your life).

I am currently engaged in a very sophisticated game of who can find the best hiding spot for candy with my kids, so this one particularly spoke to me:

Co-author

Jason Chatfield

who writes the New Yorker Cartoons Substack was also kind enough to contribute this guest rec for what has been making him laugh lately:

“The thing I've been most enjoying the most lately for a good laugh is a regular newsletter called

ToonStack’s Newsletter

.  A bunch of New Yorker cartoonists get together each week and post cartoons about a topic they choose, and write a little something below each one. It's so funny to see everyone's different takes on the same theme-- sometimes the writing underneath is even funnier than the cartoon! It's free, and the link is toonstack.substack.com”

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Writing-related links:

• I’ve appreciated the real talk about book publicity

  Kathleen Schmidt
  has been doing on her Substack Publishing Confidential.

• Loved these insights into working as a greeting card writer at Hallmark with a bonus Bono story by Tina Neidlein at

  The Panicked Creative
  . Also, my college roommate and I might have ruined a VHS tape in college by replaying a certain section of a live U2 performance too many times. So yes, I did lead a pretty wild life in college.

• And you’ve got about a week to enter this short story contest about money.

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News from Me:

• They opened up some more spots in my September virtual class on humor writing, you can grab one here.

• My camping piece was the most read piece on McSweeney’s in July and I was excited to get to answer some questions about it for their Patreon.

• Mothers Who Make is a great Substack interview series by

  Heidi Fiedler
  . I was happy to be a part of it this month.

• I met writer friend

  Nina Badzin “Dear Nina”
  in person last month and she gave me a shout in her podcast episode about visiting long-distance friends. Meeting internet writer friends IRL is one of my favorite things, so I also highly recommend it when you can.

Closing Joke:

Making CapCut template memes is my new stress-relief strategy I guess?

@julievickwriterNot quite ready yet. #parentsoftiktok #backtoschool #momsoftiktok #mommemes #introvertmom

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*This newsletter contains affiliate links for which I will receive a small commission when you make a purchase through links at no additional cost to you.